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(New Studio Course) What is Anti‑racist/Anti‑oppressive Education?

Posted by stephanie rogers on February 23, 2021 in News

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Tragically, it took the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, to awaken many white people (especially within the United States and Canada), to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous violence and systemic racism. 

Although Floyd’s murder was what finally drew the attention of folks who had previously been unaware, there are countless individuals who have died or been brutalized, both before this event and afterward, and in both the United States and Canada. The news has erupted with those individuals’ stories, and once-silenced survivors are stepping forward at a time when it seems that the ‘dominant’ culture might actually be listening, and that there is the possibility of reform. And in all of this, social media is rife with many white people asking, “What can I do?”

Taking this course can be one small, first step, by assuming the responsibility of educating ourselves to address systemic racism and oppression within our own institution. As white teachers and academics, we will take on this work under Kayla Reed’s (Executive Director, Action St. Louis), “A.L.L.Y” framework*:

    Always centre the impacted

    Listen and learn from those who live in oppression 

    Leverage your privilege

    Yield the floor

Through anti-racist and anti-oppressive theory and voices, we will learn how to position ourselves, our disciplines, and our institution in relation to the systemic racism and oppression in which they are embedded, and that they reinforce and reproduce those systems. We will simultaneously determine how to put into practice what we have learned. Anti-racist and anti-oppressive education are relevant in every discipline, and folks from every Faculty are encouraged to engage in this critical work.

While open to anyone, this course is designed for those who are just beginning their anti-racist and anti-oppressive education learning journey.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

    Uncover and discuss how racism and oppression are replicated and reinforced in all institutional spaces  

    Identify and plan how you will apply each component of the ALLY framework in your teaching, research, and academic (and personal) lives

    Begin to connect anti-racist/anti-oppressive education to Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

    Through a scaffolded process, create a final project (as required for the Faculty Certificate Program)

    Embrace these first developmental steps as part of lifelong learning

This course is primarily asynchronous (through Brightspace and Microsoft Teams, with opportunities (but no requirement) to meet synchronously one-on-one with the instructor, and/or with your peers (via Teams). Course modules, assignments, and opportunities for engagement will be released every two weeks (five modules for 10 weeks, from May 17 to July 12, 2021.)  Opportunities for synchronous discussion or other connections--dates and times-- will be determined by participants.

This studio course can be completed as part of the Faculty Certificate Program, offered through the CLT.

Facilitator

Tereigh Ewert
Senior Educational Developer (Diversity and Inclusivity)
Centre for Learning and Teaching

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